Resilient wheel



W. D. THOMSON.

RESIUENT WHEEL.

Arrucmon man Juu 29. 191s.

1,368,074s Patented Feb.'8, 1921.

Fig.. 1. 177,117.2.

Wwf/.M @a 525W i length.

il L

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RESILIENT WHEEL.

Application tiled July 29, 1915.

To all fit-710m t may Concern.'

Be it known that I, VILLrAai l). TrionfsoN, citizen of the United States, residing at Madison, county of Dane, and State of lVisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Resilient l'ifheels, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to improvements in resilient wheels for vehicles.

rl`he object of my inventionois to provide improved means for resiliently supporting the hub of a vehicle wheel from the rim and also to provide such wheels with adequate means for resisting side thrusts without impairing' their resiliently yielding quality.

In the drawings-- Figure l is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, of a vehicle wheel embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the same with pats broken away to show the interior.

rhe same reference characters apply to the same parts throughout the drawings and specifications.

A non-pneumatic tire l is bolted in the ordinary fashion to the rim 2. The tire may be of any approved material and may be secured in any desired manner, no specific fastening means being necessary to my inf? vention.

T he rim 2 is supported by spokes 3 from the hub. Said spokes are preferably made of springsteel and are made in an S shape or reversely curved for a part of their This S shaped portion, preferably comprises the outer part of t ie spoke and is adapted to yield resiliently to all pressures operating in the plane of the wheel and especially to those acting radially. rl`he inner and outer ends of spokes 3 are in the same radial line and the reversely curved portion preferably extends equally in opposite di` rections therefrom. At its outer end, each spoke is pivotally secured to the rim, the pivot pin 6 being spaced from the rim. thus allowingthe spoke a maximum of flexibility in the plane of the wheel but in no other direction. A connecting` plate 4 is fastened to the rim and provided with ears 5, Pivot bolt 6 passes through these ears and the head 7 of the spoke, thus providing a substantial hinge joint between spoke and rim which allows the spokes to bend without abrupt flexion at the point of connection and without bringing them into contact with the rim. The inner end of the spoke is provided Specicaticn of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. S, 192i. Serial No. 112,011.

with a circular flange 8 which is socketed in a recess formed betweenflange 9 on the hub and a retaining` ring 10, said ring' l0 being held in place by the nut ll threaded on the hub. A hub cap l2 is screwed to the end of the axle in the usual manner. It will be observed that by socketing; the spoke dang@ 8 in the hub flange 9 and the retaining` rinl 10, a swivel joint is formed between the spoke and the hub. The shank of the spoke has an elongated bearing in the members 9 and l between the flange 8 and the peripheral margin of the flange 9, a d this shank portion of the spoke extends along a straight line radially to a point between the floating rings 15 and 17, hereinafter -described. rl"he curved portion of each spoke is therefore located between the floating rings and the rim. These elongated shanks are an important factor' in avoiding` crystallization of the spokes such as resultsv where a curved spoke is connected at one end of the curve directly with the hub. vgWhere the curved portion of the spoke is directly connected with the huh, the leverage at the point of connect-ion is great, and substantially all the flexion takes place in the vicinity of this connect-ion, thus causing' rapid crystallization. In my improved spoke, however, flexion which tends to occur at the inner end of the curve in the spoke, e'. e., at the outer end of the shank. is relieved by the fact that the shank itself yields at its outer end to some extent, although the direction in which the bending pressure is exerted is such that excessive bending of the shank portion of the spoke will not occur. The swiveled connection with the hub avoids crystallization such as would otherwise be caused by twisting strains.

Thus far I have described only the loadbearingpart of my wheel. To protect ae'ainst side thrust, I adoptthe expedient of providing` rings floated from the rim on each side of the wheel and rigidly spaced from each other. Spokes 13, preferably made of wire. are screwed into nipples 14 which.y in turn` are fastened into the rim. The spokes may be screwed into these nipples to attain any desired degree of spoke tension. One set of the wire spokes is fastened near the inner edge. of the rim. These cross the plane of the wheel and support floating` ring 15 through which they are led and held by spoke head 16. A second set ofv wire spokes is fastened to the rim adjacent to its outer edge. These spokes support inner floating ring 1i'. rllhe two floating rings are braced and spaced from each other, by means of rods 18 which extend between the resilient spokes and connect ring 17 to ring at intervals oi their circumference. The nut-s 19 on the cuter ends ot belt-s 18 also serve to fasten plate 2O to ring 15, through which said ring is supported against in ward movement relatively to outer end oit the axle. A ball 21 is preferably mounted in cap 22 which, in turn, is screwed to hub cap 19.. The plate is adapted to bear against ball 21 'for the purpose of: taking up an inward thrust against the wheel. The hall lessens the lriction and can readily be renewed when worn.

When my improved wheel is in use, the tire 1 will serve to protect the :telly but it need not be resilient. The cushioning etects are secured by springs which, when weight is applied to the axle, will all flex in suoli a manner as to resiliently support the axle at a point which may be slightly lowei than the center of the wheel. rlie peculiar S shape or' the outer end oi the resilient spokes, allows those spokes above the axle to expandand those below to contract radially, whilethe pivotal connection provided by bolt 6 allows the proper liexion ot these spokes at either side oi the wheel. The wire spokes 13 with rings 15 and 17 and cross bars 18 form a truss which etlectively guards against the dishing of the wheel. As 'further protection, plate 2O is provided, with its bearing against ball 21 on the enc of the axle. No matter wl at position the axle assumes relative to ring 15, the ball 21 will still have a bearing point somewhere on plate 20. Inthis way, l have succeeded in making my wheel suiiiciently rigidV laterallyV and yet extremely resilient in a vettical plane in its support oi the axle. Also, by providing the truss construction as a guard against side thrusts, Iam ahle to make the spokes 3 with a relatively small diameter,

yetwitli suilicient rigidityV to support, with a resilient action, the loads imposed upon the axle by the vehicle which it carries,v

whereby a wheel comparatively light in weight is provided. Formerly, in a construction ot' this kind, it was necessary to provide broad flat yspokes to take upside thrusts while permitting a vertical resiliency.

It will be understood that dust prooting` devices, driving devices for use on driven wheels and other structures of common use are well known and hence do not appear in the drawing or speciiication.

ln the 'foregoing description setting 'forth the specilic structure illustrated, l do Vnot intend to limit the scope or my invention to exclude any mechanical 4equivalents for the parts and combinations disclosed, the terms employed being used in the description and the appended claims as terms oi description and not ot limitation.

l claim- 1. A resilient wheel, including the conin bination with a hub and a rim, of a set o resilient spokes, each having swiveled connection with the hub and pivotal connection with the rim, saidspolres extending along radial lines to a substantial distance from the hub, and having their outer portions revesely curved substantially in the central plane of the wheel rim.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, in which the swiveled inner end of the spoke is provided with an elongated bearing in the hub following a radius of the wheel.

In testimony whereof l ailix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WlLLliilvl THOMSON., lNitnesses RALPH E. KING, CHAS. PoLLAoir. 

